The Mortal Instruments

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Brianne paused. Here was another Downworlder. Though she spoke kind words, Brianne felt the hair raise on the back of her neck. Paragon had been nothing but helpful, and Valister had shown no ill intent, but she was well aware the odds were heavily out of her favor now. "My friend was taken away by his...." What was Ash to Rhett, really? To her he was nothing more then a temporary ally, someone who held information and was paid for it in kind. It was not, strictly speaking, activity sanctioned by the Clave, but if they didn't find friends in those around them, who would they have when it came down to demons versus the living?

"He was taken away by his family." She spoke finally, reflecting that it was probably the closest to describing the bond between Ash and Rhett. "I'm sure he's safe. Now really, if you don't mind I'm going to make my way back to the Institute. Back home. "I don't want to push my luck any further then it has been." By the Angel, today was just not her day, was it?

She glanced at the three before her before turning back around. "You're all welcome to accompany me back, where we may speak more, but I refuse to do so out in the open." Where it isn't safe. Unwilling to look back to see if Paragon, Valister or Jenny followed her, she squared her shoulders and walked back on the path towards the Institute. Hopefully Roxanne and Hendrick would beat her back, so that if more then Valister did come back with her, she wouldn't have nearly as much to explain.

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Morrigan leaned her back against the wall as she listened to Cin speak. There were no half truths or evasions leaving the fairy's lips. It was all of what she had told Ash, with a little more insinuation as to what direction her future would take. She kept her eyes on the line where the ceiling met the opposite wall, biting her lip as she wrapped her arms around herself, as if to protect her body from the implications her future brother-in-law laid down.

"Twenty four hours." She had heard the hollowness of Cin's threat to fight, but there was nothing short of a promise in the words he spoke now. "If you stand in the way, you will find it difficult to remain so calm." A small gasp left Morrigan's mouth as she shut her eyes, her head leaning back against the solid surface of the paneling behind her.

It wasn't until she heard the door slam that she let her body shake with the fear it had withheld, driving her nails into her sides to keep her eyes from shedding the tears they so desperately wanted to release. Twenty four hours. And then he would come back, and unless the entire wrath of hell was there to stop him, she would be dragged back to the Court. Her control snapped, and she bit through her lip, tasting blood in her mouth as she imagined exactly what sort of things her parents were capable of.

Of course, without the last few doses of antidote, she would die. Would it be too much to ask that it could be sooner rather then later? She lifted one of her hands from her waist and raised her fingers to her lips, pulling them back to examine the crimson liquid. I won't run. They'll find me eventually, no matter where I go. She couldn't hide behind Ash forever, either. The blood on her fingers, her own, became Ash's for a moment as his broken body flashed through her mind. No. I'll have to...She swallowed, the metallic tang causing her stomach to roil as she pressed her tongue against the wound on her lip, trying to stop the bleeding.

 

"Any time." Hendrick said simply as the girl had pulled away. "Noted, and I'll figure something out, maybe even more awesome than yours, but don't worry you'll be allowed to borrow it." Hendrick said with a grin on his face indicating he wasn't serious at all atleast not about the more awesome part. The girl turned out to have been lost in more ways than one. "Don't worry, I know the way." Hendrick said, despite his relatively short stay her in the city he knew his way around. "It's alright, come on." The older shadow hunter said, in her case it was a good thing she had a fancy phone to be able to find the way back home, he briefly considered texting Brianne that he had found her and was returning to the Institute but quickly realised his mistake as he remembered she had thrown the bloody thing to the wall in a fit of rage. Well no use crying over it, they'd just meet at the Institute.

Hendrick safely navigated himself and Roxanne back to the Institute this time without a murder of Vampires coming for his blood. This was a good thing because Hendrick really wasn't looking for another fight and going to have to explain to the Silent Brother he had ignored the doctor's advice given. He traced the lines of a rune on the door for it to open and let himself and Roxanne in, locking it again behind them, taking the elevator towards the main hallway. "So, I take it we'll just go straight for the library then? Or do you want to look into that another time?" He himself would like the distraction simply to not think ahead of the discussion he would have with Brianne.

 

Hendrick nodded when Roxanne answered "Alright, then let's get going before the boss is here." Hendrick said as he walked with the girl to the Library she seemed to be feeling better, a lot better actually and it didn't occur to him some of it might be pretending. He couldn't fathom how such a small show of kindness could have such an effect and was glad it hadn't blown up in his face yet... He half expected this to backfire at some point. And it'd pass the time before Brianne came back so that'd be nice, not that he looked forward to the conversation but it had to be done. He started looking through the pile of books trying to deduce from the titles if it were related to the subject at hand he started sorting through them, ignoring books about downworlders and neatly stacking any and all books about demons on the table. He also took the moment to sort the shelves out a little bit, grouping books on specific downworlders together so information would be easier to find. He figured it had been that way at some point but right now some books didn't seem to have been put back where they belonged and that was simply not done. "Could you please go through those and see if there's anything useful in them?" He asked Roxanne as he was still happily moving books around, his wounds still ached and he figured there'd be hell to pay for this later, but he wasn't gonna cross any bridges he hadn't reached yet.

 

Well seeing as how Valister had already agreed to follow Brianne to the institute, he wasted no time in following behind her. Whether any of the other two people there followed as well was of no concern to him, but if they did choose to follow then he would certainly listen to what they had to said to see if anything else that caught his interest was spoken.

 

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"Thank you for the offer but I must be getting back to HQ" Paragon bowed to Brianne "Well it was lovely meeting you, though I wish it could have been in better circumstance. I'm sure we'll meet again, Miss Lightwood" and with that, Paragon disppeared

After what must have seemed like an eternity to Grayson, Doctor Bishop stopped the machine and removed the needles "Hmm. Now we'll see how your body reacts to the stimuli" a black-clad guard wheeled Grayson away and the doctor walked alongside "I wonder. Will you die like the rest? Or will you react more positively? These experiments have offered us valuable insight onto the workings of werewolves" Grayson was wheeled to another section of the lab. "The Full Moon Serum?" Doctor Bishop commanded a scientist, who handed him a needle of a strange liquid "Mr Keller, when was your first change?"

Nick started driving and was immediately caught in the New York traffic. This was why he usually took the train "So... uh... who is this guy?" Nick surreptitiously asked Alarick, motioning to Sien in the back of the car. Worry filled his mind that the warlock was more than a friend to Alarick, and he found himself feeling slightly envious. Though he couldn't blame the shadowhunter, Sien was quite cute.

 

Jenny's pov:



It looked like Valister Cron was taking the offer from Brianne, some Shadowhunter girl. This was interesting. She would have to find out from everyone. Brianne then said her friend was taken away by his family. She hoped that this family would get the an the help her needed. Then there was that word safe. Safe from who? Safe where? "Nowhere is safe, everywhere has its dangers, you just have to find the safest option for that moment and hope for the best. having someone you call friend can help." She was then told that she could accompany the women back to the institute. This was interesting. This was the best option to find out more information. She watched Valister follow Brianne. She did not have anything better to do so why not. If this is a waste of time so help me. "Alright." She then followed Brianne. Well you wanted adventure looks like you are getting one.

Adam's pov:



After the conversation about Jon he took a set to have some lunch. He sat at home eating lunch with his mom. He wished that this could happen everyday. Mom always seemed so busy. She way always writing in some book and just being odd. As the years went on she seemed more on edge. He always wanted to asked her what was on her mind, but she always brushed past it. Does it have something to do something with my past. Whenever he thought about his past ally he could think of was the strange lights. She wanted him to remember, but after see many people about it he had given up any hope of finding or remembering anything. He looked at the time and sadly he would have to get going soon. Time was never on his side.

 

Nick suddenly stopped the car and looked at Alaric with a panicked expression "Oh Angel I just hit a mundie" he breathed with a groan. He peeked at the cyclist and winced. He had to deal with this "Wait here and take care of Masque. I'll, uh, apologise to the poor guy" he exited the car and leaned down to help up the cyclist "OhgoshI'msosorry" he hurriedly apologised "I'veneverhitanyonebeforeI'msosorry"

As the car suddenly stopped Masque's steady arm was jogged and a massive pencil mark marred his sketches. He hissed and screwed up the paper. With a groan he held his head in his hands "Why does everything I do go wrong?" he pleaded "You should just execute me. Right here. Right now. Why not? Why do you let me continue this wretched existence?"

 

Hendrick was organising the bookshelves again, it hadn't gone unnoticed to him that Roxanne sat on the floor rather than on a table, but thought it best not to comment on it and just let her be. When books started flying across the room he took a break from his organisation duties and looked at Roxanne she clearly had been frustrated by something. He picked up the book and looked at the Index, finding something useful about the banishment of Demons . He went over to the designated pages and began reading, it mentioned something about a ritual for 20 years of banishment. He went over the passages describing the rituals, but whatever was required made no sense to him at all. "I think we got something here.... It's a ritual for banishing, not permanent but for 20 years.... Whatever we may need makes no sense to me, we may need some help on that one, but it seems like our best bet right now." He looked at the book again, pages were torn out or faded, it mattered little they were useless. Atleast it was a start for what they wanted to achieve.

 

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The Seelie Queen tapped her fingers against the vines that made up the left side arm of her chair of roses and thorns, looking at the knight before her. Cináed had been loyal, and true, but something had changed, these last few centuries. She had thought, perhaps even hoped that the knight had become interested in someone. Any children of the Coldsprings was liable to be a powerful asset to the court, and thus herself. Even after so long, he still had not brought forth anyone to ask for her blessing.

She leaned back in her chair, eyes cold and unforgiving. "What Masque has done is unforgivable. His transgressions against our kind have gone above and beyond what is acceptable. If the Shadowhunters do not bring justice to our people, as I think they will not, then we shall do it ourselves." You may want to try and save Morrigan from the wrath of her parents, but you are miss-stepping, Cináed.

"Give her twenty four hours to return. If she does not, well..." her hands once more tapped against the chair, this time in displeasure instead of mild curiosity. "Then you will take twenty knights of the court, and you will drag her back here. We cannot have the fey fraternizing with the...lower races." Her disdain was clear in her voice as she turned her eyes away from the fairy in front of her. "You will inform me if she is reminded of her place and returns before the time limit without delay." A snap of her fingers, and a small human, once a boy but now something more....tree-like, hurried forward, carrying a large golden hour glass. Titania turned it on its head, and watched the sand begin to slowly dwindle down. To someone who had lived nearly two thousand years, twenty four hours was little more then child's play.

"You are dismissed, Cináed." His name came out in a drawl as her cold eyes found his once more. She knew that he was hiding something from her, and she allowed it. For now.

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Alarick glanced at Nick, his eyebrows raised slightly. "You're driving too fast. And keep your eyes on the road." He responded, turning to stare at the dashboard. "Sien is a contact of mine. As I am of his." Speaking of...he pulled his phone out of his pocket to text Brianne, and sighed when he saw Roxanne's message pop up as "Last Received." Right. Brianne doesn't HAVE a phone, because Brianne BROKE her phone.

He typed back a message to Roxanne, ignoring the winky face, whatever that meant, and informing her, civilly, that they were en route to the Institute with Masque in tow. It was a courtesy he didn't have to extend, given that they didn't necessarily need her, or Hendrick, or Brianne's help in placing Masque in the detainment room. Which was hopefully clean. He didn't need, or want Brianne to be involved in this, but she would insist, as Head of the institute, to know what was going on. And she had that right, he just wished he could circumvent it.

Nick slammed on the brakes beside him, and the phone flew from his hand as his fingers wrapped around the bo staff clipped to his waist. He heard the screen crack as it smacked against the dash, but refused to pay it any mind. "Nick, you shouldn't-" He sighed as the other Shadow hunter stepped out of the car, proceeding to order him to stay in the car with Masque. Clearly, Nick needed a lesson in the chain of command. One that Brianne hadn't apparently decide was necessary. He sighed, letting go of his staff to retrieve his now spider webbed phone from the floor of the car as Masque began to complain.

"You're important, Masque." He looked in the rearview mirror at the warlock, who was busy staring down at his page. "We've all felt like giving up. But you only get one life. Most of us try to make it count before we disappear into the dark." He continued, staring out the windshield. "Do you have another name?" Alarick asked, turning his gaze back towards the occupants in the back seat. He didn't like referring to the individual as a moniker that had meant the death of so many.

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Morrigan took her blade, the familiar weight erasing a little of the doubt and fear in her mind as she traced her hands over the metal, pleased to see it had been cleaned of blood. You can't have this both ways, Luaith. She kept the thought in her mind, having no desire or intent to speak. She was took shaken by Cin's words, by the silent thoughts that wormed their way into her head. You can't expect me to become independent and strong, yet order me around like a child. Ash's words were interrupted by the subject himself, as he entered the room. She buckled her sword to her waist, her hands clenching and unclenching as Rhett struggled to cross the room. She wanted to help him, but if the werewolf was anything like the warlock who now looked at him with concern, Rhett would take the offer with offense.

She waited until Rhett was busy pulling plants and the like from the shelves before approaching Ash. "Let me see your hand, before we go." She murmured, taking the warlock's bruised hand in hers. She dropped it like she had been burned when Rhett's voice pierced her concentration. He was looking from her, to him, to her, to Ash again, eyes incredulous. She met his gaze evenly ignoring the flush that crept up her bruised neck and cheeks before opening her mouth.

"Unless you're planning on poisoning Grayson Kellar's corpse, nightshade is not a good plant to be mixing with peppers." She told Rhett, her face completely serious. She had no doubt that it was not to the adversary that Rhett intended to go, but it would hardly be beneficial for the werewolf to accidentally poison himself or someone else after he'd just gotten back from the nearly dead.

Speaking of Grayson....she wanted to find the fairy who had saved her. He had not been part of the Seelie Court, and his face and tactics had been unfamiliar. If nothing else, she needed to at least thank him. She would mention this to Ash, after Rhett had been corrected.

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Brianne instinctively reached for her phone to text Hendrick and Roxanne, and to see if Paragon had kept his word and left his contact information. This action was met with some choice words when her fingers found an empty pocket, and her mind recalled that her phone currently lay in several pieces on the floor of the Institute infirmary. Whatever. I'll get there when I get there. They better have stayed out of trouble.

She wasn't even sure how to deal with Roxanne, the horrible crying of the werewolf penetrating her conscious mind as she recalled the horrific sight. It would be best for everyone, especially Roxanne, if she could be sent back to Alicante and hospitalized until they determined whether rehabilitation was possible or not. But Brianne wasn't sure this was possible, even at the best of times and with the Institute fully staffed, it would take half an army to put Roxanne somewhere she did not want to be, much less keep her there.

~Timeskip for Magick's sake because she doesn't want to describe a city she has never seen~

An hour later, Brianne had managed to make it back to the steps of the Institute with the two vampires in tow. She halted in front of the ward, frowning slightly. She could sense that it had been passed through, so either Hendrick had come back with Roxanne, or Alarick with his group. In either case, she wouldn't rest easily until everyone was safe and inside those walls.

"So." Brianne turned to Valister and Jennifer, crossing her arms over her chest. "You both probably know the Mortal Cup was stolen. I don't know anything more then that, and if you do, I'm sure we could work out an exchange." She sighed noisily, shaking her head. "The most I can offer you is a small tidbit of information, that we are just as much in the dark as you, but we want nothing to do with any war. We just want the Mortal Cup back. And yes, things are bad for Downworlders and they do need to change but forcing them to change this way will only lead to bloodshed."

She waved her arm. "You're both welcome to stay here, however you will be barred from leaving your room with a barrier Rune. You will not be allowed into the Library or other rooms except by leave of my own person, and I cannot promise or guarantee your safety from your own people. However you will be safe from my own. The other option is that we can stay, and talk here, but I expect the favor to be returned for each answer I give" The Clave would be another story, but Brianne was desperate for all the allies she could get. If the Clave wouldn't send her more help, she would find it on her own.

"So what's your choice?"

​

Grayson's teeth were chattering as his muscles contorted and writhed under his skin, reacting to whatever had been poured into his body. Truth be told, he didn't want to think abut it. The werewolf had a feeling he was going to develop an intense dislike of hospital rooms, and especially syringe wielding mad doctors. "I was pretty young..." He gritted his teeth to stop the chattering, pretending to consider the doctor's question.

"I think...it was possibly when I was....oh yeah!" He tilted his head up, or as far as his head would go, being strapped down to a gurney and all. "It was when I was banging your mom!" Chuckling to himself, Grayson let his head collapse back onto the hard surface, ignoring the pain as best he could. Like I'm going to be anything close to helpful for you. He didn't even help out his own father when the son of a bitch was dying, why would he help out his own tormentor?

 

"If I learned anything in my years, **** like this is never easy. We should call ourselves lucky that we found anything at all." Hendrick said, having organised everything he went over to her and knelt by her side. "The fight ain't over till it's over, Roxi, this battle wasn't lost, the war isn't lost. No matter how many times this demon thinks he has us beaten, we'll prove him wrong and strike out. We'll crush him, Roxanne, mark my words." Hendrick was confident they could beat them, sure she was right it hardly made sense to them, but he was confident they could make it work.

He went back to the table going over a few other books there, but since he found nothing in his quick search he put them back on the shelf as well. When he was done Roxanne mentioned a text from Brianne's brother and that she was gonna play a messenger, well if Brianne was back already he guessed it was time for the explanation he owed her. He had noted how Roxanne mentioned Alarick to be cute, odd way to look at him, then again she didn't know what had transpired between the two of them. And Hendrick would keep it all quiet and try his best to avoid him as long as possible.

Hendrick followed the younger Nephilim as she called out for Brianne, she had put on a brave face as she went to look for the head of the Institute, walking through the hallway of the Instititute he didn't hear anything to indicate anyone else was there. Maybe she had gotten caught outside, just like he himself had the previous night and he became slightly worried. He himself had taken on the four vampires and gotten out badly, but she had just a stele with her, he silently prayed to the Angel everything was gonna be alright and everyone returned safely.

 

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Nick's reckless driving wasn't at all helping with his discomfort with being in a car. In fact at this point he was more nervous about that then the fact that he was still sitting next to Masque. Alarick criticizing his driving didn't help either. If it also almost as if all of this was just a build up for something to hap - *CRASH*

Welp, there was that answer. Sien had never been tenser than he was the moment Nick crashed into the random cyclist. His hands were tightly gripped around the seatbelt as he slowly started to calm his nerves. Breathe in...breathe out and repeat. Sien had eventually calmed himself just in time to hear Masque say something. He figured that Nick had gone out to address the incident. "Well this is your punishment for what you've done." This of course coming from the guy who's just going along with all this.

Having followed Brianne through the city Magick's never seen before, Valister stopped at the steps of the Institute behind Brianne. He took in the two options that she given them and gave them both careful consideration. Sticking close to them would be an easy way to gather more information, but given how he wouldn't be able to go anywhere of his own free will, that kinda hindered that idea despite the likely just reason behind it. As for getting information now, they could negotiate some form of compensation for her help later. "I choose that we talk here."

 

Jenny's pov:



She followed Brianne through the city, but did not get any detail on what there was to see. There was such a thing as Google, but that was to much trouble to look through that many pictures. She guessed that would have gave Magick some detail on the city she never seen. It took them a hour to get to the Institute. She thought it would have been faster to get here, but meh. She hoped that it was worth the trip a hour was a long time after all. 'You both probably know the Mortal Cup was stolen.' Was this what it was about? The Mortal Cup? She could net believe this first another vampire wanted to know about the Mortal Cup and now Brianne did. She was sure Brianne knew more about the Mortal Cup then the vampire did. 'You're both welcome to stay here, however you will be barred from leaving your room with a barrier Rune' Branne said. She was not to fond about this idea. She had her own place to stay, so that was no issue. She looked at the Institute, she did not think there would there would be trouble finding a room for her to stay in. "I choose that we will talk here for now." She could think of something down the road. "I do not think the Clave would like it if they found out you were letting people just stay at the Institute. So to keep them off your back, I will do what I can." She looked at Valister, who seemed to have the same idea she did. She wondered what the man was up to. She might find out down the road, but now was the time to focus at the task at hand.

 

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Titania watched Cináed go, her expression blank. The boy with the hourglass remained at her side, expression dazed. He probably thought he was home with his family, right about now. She tapped her fingers on the chair once more, the signal that she was thinking. The Court's chatter drifted into the background, never so much that she couldn't be called alert, but enough that it wouldn't distract her. Two fingers tapped, and an armor clad figure strode forward. "Send a reasonable amount of your forces to find the one they call Masque." She murmured, her hand raised against her lips to prevent her words from being read. "If the Shadowhunters have not yet executed him, then do the job for them. Make sure there are no witnesses."

As the knight bowed and removed himself from her sight to do her bidding, she sighed once more, leaning back into her chair. It couldn't be considered an act of war if there was no one to report it. And since the Mortal Cup was missing, it could only be blamed on the other Downworlders. Her knights knew how to cover their tracks. There would be no mistakes on this one. And she would have her revenge.

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Morrigan bit back a smile as she watched Ash and Rhett interact. They were...like family. Or what she had seen family look like. Morrigan herself had no siblings to compare what she was seeing to, but that was the what came to her mind. She blushed as Rhett looked back at her, and her reply was soft. "I see fire, and freedom." And blood. She shook her head, tangled hair brushing the skin along her shoulders and arms as he walked out the door. "I don't think Ash could stop worrying about you if she tried." She turned towards the mentioned warlock, a single eyebrow raised.

"I never would have perceived you to be a romanticist." She commented, grabbing the strands of hair and quickly twining them between her fingers to create a messy braid. It was far from perfect, but it kept her vision from being obscured, and it would be harder to use against her when things came down to a fight. As she was assuming they would, given Ash's previous statement.

"You don't know when to stop pushing me, do you?" She asked softly, her hands falling to the grip of her sword. "Asking me to rebel, then to aid you, and now to kill...." Her braid slipped over her shoulder, swinging slowly like a pendulum until it stopped in the middle of her back. "When does the fire stop warming and begin to burn?"

​

Brianne turned from Vaslister to Jennifer. "I don't think the Clave would welcome the interference of a vampire, any vampire. And I can handle my own affairs well enough." She replied to the female, crossing her arms across her chest. "All I know is this; The Mortal Cup was stolen by one that has access to magic. There was more then one person involved, and as of yet the Clave has no answers." She bit the inside of her cheek. "If the person doesn't come forward soon, the Clave will visit wrath upon the Downworlders. If you have forces to protect yourself or your people, I would suggest pulling them together and preparing them. I have a feeling that this is all going to explode sooner rather then later."

She paused before pulling out a piece of paper and quickly scrawling something on it. "My number." Once I get a new phone. "Should you receive any information." She wished she could promise assistance to the vampires, but if it came down to it and she and the others were caught in between the Downworlders and the Clave...she would always have to choose Nick and Roxanne and Hendrick over anyone else.

"I wish you good luck and safety." She murmured to Jenny before turning, and with a flick of her fingers pulled down the barrier rune. "Come on, vampire. Let's go get you settled." She walked inside, turning to wait for the vampire before pushing the barrier up once more. To Jennifer's eyes, they would have disappeared, both sight and sound blocked from the inside and out. It was then she noticed Roxanne.

"Hello." She said shortly, cautiously. "Roxanne this is Valister. He's going to be staying with us for a while. Please be nice to him." She hesitated. "I'm glad to see you back safe. I'll be right back, I just have to get him out of the way before Alarick gets back." She did not want to face her brother with a Downworlder at her back just yet.

She led Valister up the stairs and down the long hallway, towards the elevator. To the right was a guest bedroom, normally used for Shadowhunters on temporary rotation. It was dusty, but comfortable. She led him inside, and then performed the sealing Rune that would only allow herself, or her brother to enter. That was the damning thing about being a twin. "Right. You should be safe here. I have to speak with my colleagues, but then I will be back to speak with you." She paused, her smile fleeting but genuine. "I appreciate this."

Then she walked back out of the room and towards Roxanne.